The same hall has several other wooden sculptures of interest. This is my favorite, one of two guardians that are inside the hall (there are two other more famous ones at the entrance). While you're there, you might try one of the more unusual things to do in the Big Buddha hall, which most foreigners miss: crawl through the pillar with the hole in it - children can do it easily, but most adults can fit through as well. The hole is the exact size of the Buddha's nostril, allowing you to get inside the Buddha's head through this rather yucky access point and experience, um, bliss...

The deer moved too fast and tried to remove themselves from the viewfinder -but this is still one of my favorite photos of the deer park; it seems to sum up the pastoral beauty. By all means explore as much of Nara that you can - both the central city area and the very spread-out prefecture.